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12.30.2010

House Sharing: Frugal Ethiopians

We are in the portion of our journey where we moved out of our residential hotel room (another story, another post) and have been house sharing for a couple of weeks. In other words, as they move out, we are moving in. They are our family friends and recent immigrants from Ethiopia. The experience has been enlightening on layers of levels; however I wanted to focus on one aspect of it for this post.

Frugal living for us is LIFE for most of the rest of world.

Sometimes it feels foolish, America's recent 'discovery' or 'revisiting'of simple living and frugality. I guess we were riding the 'World's #1 Superpower' Express which just ran out of gas. Meanwhile, the rest of the world has been moving along with life as usual; struggling it out day to day. Are there advantages to wealth? Sure, so long as its sustainable. Loss of vital knowledge is another level of poverty and I'm feeling particularly keen to regain it.

Through observation, what they've shown me is that living on less is a system of values that is also cultural. Some examples of which are:

* they dress simply and feel no need to keep up with the latest fashions
* they eat simply, do not buy packaged foods, cook rice, pasta, a large variety of simple tastey vegetables, lentils and the occasional meat. meal times are eaten together, often a platter of injera bread and always with a simple salad. They do not snack a lot and if so, it's usually fruit. They do not enjoy eating out at restaurants.



* they drink simply, coffee and water are the basics, although there are the occasional sodas.
* they live simply, while they do have cable tv and cell phones, most of their entertainment revolves around spending time with each other (even if watching a tv show), lots of chatting, visiting other friends, eating homecooked meals with friends, and lots of time at church.


That's it. That's life and they are very happy, very kind, very decent people. No debt. No interesting in living beyond their means. My kind of folks.

Moneyless World - Free World - Priceless World: San Diego

Could not have said it better myself. This moneyless traveler visited the city where I live, and aptly put into words the vibrations here and most of this country. SD is heavily militarized and a microcosm of the direction this country is taking with its emphasis on wars and imperialism. I'm not advocating going 'moneyless' per se, but I do advocate dropping out of the zombie zone of living and mindless consumption of things (debt) and errant media. Viewing life through the eyes of the homeless, seeing ourselves as we really appear to be is an incredibly eye-opening experience. Cops stopping you at every turn, 'can't stand here, don't do that' - indeed, the end of liberty.

"You simply cannot live without money and be legal here. I suppose that's true all over the US, but especially here. But I can also see it from the viewpoint of law enforcement. There are simply too many people here, and it's out of control. Everybody wanted to move to beautiful southern Cali, and everything turned into money and privatization and business and military. Humanity has been almost squeezed out of the picture. You try to rest your bones at a business, the owners shoe you away. You try to rest your bones on 'public' land, the cops shoe you away. You walk, you're tresspassing. You hitch-hike, you're an illegal 'threat.' If you live free, you remind people that something matters besides business, and that might be bad for the economy. But people are 'free': 'free' to shop, 'free' to buy plastic surgery and botox and silicon injections, and look at all the 'freedom' of choice at supermarkets and malls! Okay, I'm seeing this place from a different viewpoint than most. But few get to see it from the bottom. So now you get to see it from homeless eyes. I hope it's a bit uncomfortable for you."

Read this blog here:

I live in a van down by Duke University

He writes:

"Living in a van was my grand social experiment. I wanted to see if I could -- in an age of rampant consumerism and fiscal irresponsibility -- afford the unaffordable: an education."

I have to say, it's an interesting read. The creativity engendered by not wanting to go into debt. And of course he had to mention Walden, my favorite slow read these days!

I live in a van down by Duke University

12.28.2010

Housing outside the box: Tiny House in Berkeley

One of my greatest pleasures is looking at and dreaming of tiny houses. It's so absolutely contradictory to the concepts of housing that I was raised on. Furthermore, so many people, all over the world live in much smaller spaces than we Americans of the suburban tribe of humanity.

Not only is this 6 room, 420 sq foot home beautiful, but I relish the mentality fit for living and maneuvering your life in and through it from day to day. It's not for everyone, but for those who can make it work, why not and at a fraction of the cost???




If you live in the San Francisco/Berkeley area, you might be interested in more photos and the open house.

12.27.2010

The root of simplicity is

being human. if we permit ourselves enough uninterrupted time to really, really, really, really think about the qualities that make us who we truly are, we'll come to some basic, simple truths. and then, what if we even permitted ourselves to design our lives in such a manner that enables and supports the enlargement of those qualities and nothing else?

sounds idealistic? perhaps to drones. but imagine what life would look and feel like if we realized 40%, 50% or even 75% of our simple truths? would it have been worth the effort?

12.26.2010

Each time someone passes away

... we are reminded of how brief life is

it seems mysterious how generation after generation wonders about the power of distraction

how moments melt into years

until the bells of finality toll for others

and

as if awakened by these occasional ringings of life's

alarm clocks

we are reminded of how brief life is

and like unfaithful lovers,

we vow - once again -

to love life and love to live

more fully

than ever

before

Our first teacher is our own heart

"Our first teacher is our own heart."
Cheyenne Saying










Profound. Simple. Roots.
Remembering who we were when we first arrived,
unfettered, uncomplicated, undamaged,
is fundamental to living simple and simply living.
As babies, we lived 100% by and through our hearts
We were pure in heart, which was connected to mind– both in a state of oneness with our Creator.
Nevermind what and who happened to us ‘along the way’.
We can return.
Retrieve and free our heart.
Live through its wisemind.
In the moment, each moment.
[and let's not forget to tread lightly in our youths' life path - giving them the chance to live by their own hearts rather than our selfish desires (note to self)]
This saying has blessed my heart today!

12.25.2010

I Can Not Borrow a Single Thing

I can not borrow a single thing.Why? Because I do not know my neighbors. I remember hearing about times when this was not so. When a homemaker could and would run across the street to a neighbor's house to borrow a cup of sugar, an onion or quart of milk. How much do we [with all our fancy TVs, Ipads, and cell phones] benefit from such an estranged lifestyle. Each and every behavior we hold onto that takes us farther from our roots chips away at our being human. I'm in the process of moving into another location and have decided to be the change that inspires me. I'll knock on each neighbors door, introduce myself and let them know that I'd like to get to know them. 'System' may have taken me for a ride, but I have the power to decide when and where to get off.

12.24.2010

Your very own piece of the great puzzle

"However progress is not over. Great progress has taken place in this third phase of my life, but it's as though the central figure of the jigsaw puzzle of your life is complete and clear and unchanging, and around the edges other pieces keep fitting in. There is always a growing edge, but the progress is harmonious. There is a feeling of always being surrounded by all of the good things, like love and peace and joy. It seems like a protective surrounding, and there is an unshakeableness within which takes you through any situation you may need to face.

The world may look at you and believe that you are facing great problems, but always there are the inner resources to easily overcome these problems. Nothing seems difficult. There is a calmness and a serenity and unhurriedness - no more striving or straining about anything. Life is full and life is good, but life is nevermore overcrowded. That's a very important thing I've learned: If your life is in harmony with your part in the Life Pattern, and if you are obedient to the laws which govern this universe, then your life is full and good but not overcrowded. If it is overcrowded, you are doing more than is right for you to do, more than is your job to do in the total scheme of things."

Peace Pilgrim

Wow, this coming from a woman who after more than fifteen years of spiritual preparedness decided to trust the universe to such an extent that she would walk across the country, by herself in her middle years of her life, with no money, no possessions depending solely on the free will kindness of others for food. All in order to spread her message of peace. I'll leave her story to your reading pleasure. :)

I am moved by her clear message and I find it similar to that of many others throughout the ages who have reached a certain spiritual peak. Once it dawns on us and our ego that we are not the center of the universe, that we are but one, precious, piece of a larger puzzle, and that we each have energy that must vibrate in the fullness of its tone, to make the universal symphony complete, we come to a place of peace, a space that exudes protection, purpose and a general sense that all is right with the world and its design.

I've wanted to hold onto that calm (we all are born with) all of my life but something happened along the way - as with all of us.

The Peace Pilgim has so eloquently explained that, for her, retrieving our individual singularity of purpose repels overcrowding in every aspect of our lives (our thoughts, the wrong people, possessions, overwrought schedules). If we've bought into the lie that chasing money, having a house filled to the brim with cluttered possessions - that our deepest selves can not ever truly value - we will never find happiness. If we are filled with anxiety, running the hampster wheel within the rat race- never knowing if we are coming and going, and never having time for one moment of feeling at peace and in quiet with our thoughts, we are most probably out of sync with our piece of the puzzle. In our of ignorance of truth, we have designed our lives around those components that other miserable people submit to and have pushed on us as the status quo or normal.

We watch life pass us by without ever having known the taste of its sweeter berries. So many of us are foreigners to ourselves and our innate values. Because of this, we will never know the life the Peace Pilgrim, and a few others, have spoken of; surrounded by calmness, serenity and unhurriedness. But such a life is our birthright, my friends, it really is.

Hmmm, how dare I utter such profanity, such crazy, rebellious nonsense! Isn't that what you'll be told or have been told when you question any aspect of the status quo or look too deeply into the message contained within the blaring billboards and marketers commercials hocking their fabricated wares (e.g. the reality they want you to buy)?

I say, let's stand still, get quiet, think a little, get to know ourselves, and then promptly simplify!

We deserve it.

12.23.2010

Free Rangers: Identifying Zombies

Everett Bogue has written a nice piece about zombification that really resonates and definitely warrants sharing. As the veil of illusion becomes tattered, people are beginning to notice that life isn't what it seemed and the race they've running has been a complete fabrication. Puppets increase awareness when the puppet masters flounder. People want life, our souls desire freedom and elevation. I can certainly attest to the fact that without active, conscious living, we are readily pulled into the zombie zone. Simple living is how I gain awareness and stay alive in each and every moment. Here are a few of Everett's tasty morsels on the subject of zombies:

Photo from papersnake.ca
"Every superhuman has their creation story. Whether it’s escaping the 9-5, practicing 30 days in a row of Bikram yoga, or discovering they have the power to manifest money in their sleep. The stories all lead to the same place: a new way of looking at the world....

For three years, I did what I was told. I woke up every morning, I ate a bacon egg and cheeses, and I surrendered to a system that I’d been told was going to take care of me. For a moment I actually believed that. I built a life around a job that interested me in some ways, and I found ways to make the job interesting in other ways. Then one day I woke up and realized it was all a dream...


1. How to go zombie hunting. One of the first steps in becoming superhuman is developing the ability to become cognizant of who is for you or against you. I call this Zombie Hunting. The truth is that we live in a world filled with people who are either asleep, given up, tired, or they want to drag you down with them into the sewage of the remnants of the society they wished still existed. Once you can pick these people out of a crowd, you’ll be able to either make the conscious choice to help them, or you can make the choice to leave them behind...

Here’s a few ways to identify zombies:

1. They can’t make eye contact with you. Their eyes are glazed over, as if they are not present in their body. In fact, they probably aren’t in their body at all. Their mind is either dwelling on the painful past of their life, or thinking about a million futures that don’t exist yet (and may never.)

2. They look tired, beaten, worn. Zombies are universally tired, all of the time. When you say. “how are you!” and they answer “tired.” chances are you’re talking to a zombie. I actually told my roommate I was tired a few nights ago, so I’m on full-scale self-zombie alert. Have a been bitten? It’s always a risk. The truth is that I was tired because it was 11pm and I’d taught one yoga class, taken two yoga classes, and written for two hours in a coffee shop. Zombies are tired when they roll out of bed in the morning. Why are they tired? Because they eat poorly, they don’t get enough exercise, they sit in front of the TV every night, they drive cars, and they can’t see a future worth fighting for.

3. They rush everywhere, like someone is chasing them. Have you ever felt like if you didn’t run from your house to your car to your job to your desk that someone was going to kill you? Well, you might be a zombie. When you rush things, they get done poorly. Nothing is so important that you need to run to get it, unless you’re running for exercise or a zombie is chasing you...


There are three simple methods to start to bring yourself into more awareness. 

1. Learn as much as you can.
You know that scene in The Matrix where Tank uploads the helicopter flight manual into Trinity’s mind? Well, believe it or not we live in an age where that’s possible. One of the best habits you can ever start is to flip on TED.com and start watching talks. It’s passive learning that will blow your mind. Set TED to your home screen and start by watching one 15 minute TED talk per day. At the end of one year you will have the equivalent of seventeen P.H.D.’s in awesomeness...

2. Stop eating zombie food, start eating superhuman food.
When you can’t focus on the world, chances are it’s because you’re not eating properly. You aren’t eating properly because most people don’t understand nutrition anymore.

What if the only two things you learned in school were personal finance and nutrition? We’d all be so incredibly rich and beautiful.
These days I eat a few different types of fruit in the morning. For lunch I’ll have a sandwich with a salad. In the evening it’s pretty random, as these days I’ve been eating out a lot wining and dining with San Francisco superhumans, but chances are what I’m eating is locally sourced and made of real food.

Real food is unprocessed. When you eat things that you get in boxes or cans in the middle of the supermarket, it is processed food. This means that it’s been reduced to it’s basic elements and then restructured into something that resembles food. If the package has any words on it telling you that it’s healthy, chances are that it’s not. Food that has no packaging, such as vegetables, fruits, local meats, etc will bring you out of your haze quickly.

If you’ve been eating sugar-coated processed corn for the last seventeen years of your life, chances are fruits and vegetables will taste like crap to you. That’s understandable, your mind has been desensitized to the real sugars present in amazing real foods. Over time your body will become re-accustomed to eating real food, and carrots will taste like awesome.

One of the most important elements of becoming superhuman is learning about real food...

3. Walk using your feet, because you have them.
I know it sounds silly, but if zombies don’t walk nearly enough — this is why they stagger around so much, they don’t know how to use their legs anymore. This is why San Francisco, Portland, and New York have a much higher superhuman-per-capita than other places, because we all walk everywhere...

4. Where do you get your information?
This is the final element in this series of strategies is the most important.
The information that you take into your mind shapes the way you think — words have power to control your mind — the power of auto-suggestion.
This is why anyone you meet who only gets their information from Cable news tends to think that they’re going to be mugged or murdered if they leave their house and that full-body scanners in airports are going to keep them safer from terrorists. When the reality is that these people will die in their cars and on their couches while they’re watching cable news.

The Internet is vast, and it’s filled with tons of amazing information that’s incredibly important. The truth of the matter is that no one source will tell you everything that matters. Just like having one income source for all of your money is a dumb idea, having one info source for all of your information is a dumb idea.

Everyone has an agenda, whether it’s secret or not. This agenda is clouded by politics, economics, religion, personal bias, and a million other things...

I was a journalism major in college, and I worked at a national magazine for three years. While I know mostly nothing about everything, I know something about the journalism world.

Here’s how 99% of stories make it onto the news:
PR person from company X calls his buddy Joe the reporter at The Times.

PR: “Hey man, I have a good story for you. Did you know that our new pharmaceutical can give you everlasting life and make you happy forever? It’s awesome and only costs $124 a month but is covered by “medical” insurance!, let me send five boxes and also I’ll buy your wife a new TV for Christmas.”

Joe: “Oh, PR man, I guess so? I know I’m supposed to have journalistic ethics, but bullcrap, I want to be happy and I don’t make more than $35,000 a year at my job here, so I guess I’ll take the new TV too.”

PR: “Oh good, I’ll send over that case. I’m going to send you a bottle of Jack Daniels too, so you can drink away the fact that you make 5% of how much I make selling people poison.”

Joe: “Oh, thanks! I just ran out of my last bottle of Jack.”

PR: “It’s a good thing too, because company X is also your main advertising sponsor. If you hadn’t run the story I would have pulled the ads and you’d be out of a job! Cool huh? It’s like a giant corporation controls your life and everyone else’s. This must be what power feels like. Muahhahahaha!”

Joe: “I hate my job.”

This is not an exaggeration. The mainstream journalism world really does work like this. Every single story you see on the news is a collaboration between a company that wants to make money, a political organization that wants to stay in power, or a religious organization with enough money to throw at a good marketing team and a journalist.

This isn’t to say that this is wrong, it’s just reality. This wasn’t always the case, but because journalism is tied to two of the most expensive mediums to maintain on the planet — printing on newspaper and broadcasting on TV costs so much that it’s a delicate system to maintain.

When the budget is low, the first element to go out the door is the truth...
Now that you know that, here’s what I want you to do:

1. Double check facts on the Internet before you assume that what you’re seeing on the TV is true.
2. Realize that all information can also be manipulation.
3. Consider cutting TV news and the newspaper out of your life entirely. There are better ways to get information, most of what you read in the newspaper doesn’t apply to your own life. You can do without it.
4. Use your time to concentrate on what you can control in your life and others.

When you’re conscious of the fact that you’re being manipulated, you’re able to defend yourself against it. This is true with advertising, this is true with television, it’s also true of the blogs you read.

Sometimes the difference between being asleep and awake is simply the ability to ask a simple question: “what is the truth?”

Sometimes the truth will surprise you..."

EXCELLENT MESSAGE! LET'S WAKE UP Y'ALL!

Read his full blog post here.

12.22.2010

The Most Venerated Souls Championed Simplicity

A meditation for today: I am certain that there is nothing new under the sun and what I'm about to say is nothing ingenious or original. However, I've noticed that there is not one great soul I admire who didn't naturally and instinctively cling to simplicity in lifestyle, action and thought; e.g., poverty in possessions (lack of attachment), wealth in spirit.


Haile Sellassie I, Iyesus Christos, Buddha, Amma, Mother Teresa, Leonard Howell, Maria Stewart, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Patrice Lumumba, Henry David Thoreau

(a wholly incomplete list of the many, many greats)

In a world of many illusions and delusions, so many of us feel unworthy to relinquish the 'things' and ideas that burden our hearts and make us so unhappy.

Free Rangers: The Prescribed Life

Jessica of minimalstudent.com offered an excellent one paragraph microscopic analysis of life as minimalists 'knew it' and I couldn't agree more:


"As people, since childhood, we are told that we should always want more and more. That we should grab as much as we can. We spend our lives earning more money to buy houses bigger than we need, to buy more clothes than we can wear and flashy cars just to get from A to B. We’re told to stuff ourselves at Thanksgiving and Christmas, fill our schedules with appointments and errands, keep up with all the media that surrounds us on TV, in magazines and on the internet. We’re told to take whatever we can, and as much of it as possible. But many of us know there is another way."

12.21.2010

Observing 'No'

How many times a day do I use the word 'No'? How often do I begin a response to my child's question with 'No'?

No, you can not go outside right now.
No, you've had too many sweets already.
No, you can't wear that dress.
No, don't play with that, staplers are dangerous.
No, I don't feel like making that right now.
No, you can't watch another episode.
No, I don't have anymore.

'No' is a reflection of the prevalence of self-imposed limitations in my own life. It's unconscious regurgitation of my mother's micro-managing style of parenting.

Yet, I'd always imagined, even daydreamed how my children would grow up differently than I; how free they'd be.

These days I want to actively observe my speech patterns and provide options rather than dead ends.

Rain


It's been raining for the past five days. For these dry parts, that's quite a lot. However, I'm grateful.

I'm grateful that I have a roof over head, besides the obvious  it creates a symphony of rain drops and I listen intently because it is a reminder of Mother Natures' presence, grace and power. I also gratefully await the green carpet of fresh, newborn herbs that will soon appear. So many, many things to be grateful for. It's a pleasurable choice after spending a lifetime meticulously finding every possible thing to complain about.


Thoreau always manages to capture our grateful interaction with nature and nature's profound effect on the reverent and thoughtful...

"Some of my pleasantest hours were during the long rain-storms in the spring or fall, which confined me to the house for the afternoon as well as the forenoon, soothed by their ceaseless roar and pelting; when an early twilight ushered in a long evening in which many thoughts had time to take root and unfold themselves. In those driving northeast rains which tried the village houses so, when the maids stood ready with mop and pail in front entries to keep the deluge out, I sat behind my door in my little house, which was all entry, and thoroughly enjoyed its protection...


http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden05.html

12.20.2010

Sistahood: Sis Chi Chi

I knew when I started this blog that I had to give thanks to Sis Chi Chi and here's why.

Several years ago, I used to edit a Rastafari newsletter entitled SistrenItes! and she was among my biggest supporters. She'd always offer to help and I was, unfortunately, a one woman does it all, kind of person.

When my youngest was born she crocheted and sent a beautiful gift.

Then, the following year in 2008 she started a blog originalwombman and I was floored. I couldn't believe she bared inner parts of her life in an open forum. I received email notifications of each entry and I admired her brutal self-examination in such a public manner. She's the first blog I ever subscribed to and the only one I read for two years. I was awed by her talents and skills - she is the quintessentially rare, happy black homemaker. I always envied her ability to stay home and make the most of it in such a spectacular way. Let me just give you a tiny tour of this wonderful woman's world:

As I mentioned before, she crochets:


She cooks:


She bakes (gorgeous stuff, the kind of stuff that only your grandmother could pull off):



She's creative:

(stuff like making homemade tofu)


She reminds us to keep emergency prepping and maintaining one's pantry:

She is so versatile and intellectually expansive that she teaches me stuff like freecycling, re-purposing, re-using, she knows every damn thing there is to know about natural baby gear such as cotton diapers/inserts, she can research the best of anything and explain it to you as smooth as butter, she homeschools - she's got a Master's Degree and has taught in public schools, she stays involved in her locale, she sets up playdates, she visits the library frequently, she reads and reviews the best books - ever- and she even challenged herself to get fit, yes that's right, in the midst of all this she works out! She's taken us through the trials, errors and successes of P90 (I think I have the name right) Tae Bo, Yoga - you name it, Chi Chi's been there and CONQUERED and is now rocking a completely fit physique.

And if all this weren't enough, she remains the most down-to-earth, upbeat positive sister. 

After everything I just mentioned, what is it I love most about Sis Chi Chi? The chime in her voice when she greets you on the phone, there is laughter, appreciation for thinking of her, child-like unabashed, happiness in her voice that she's not afraid to reveal. Indeed the world is her oyster and she gets out there and shucks herself some pearls, no matter the weather. 

Her husband and two adorable sons are blessed in this world and the next!

She's one of my Sheros!
Here's to you Sis Chi Chi, Cheers!!!!!!!


12.19.2010

The gift of presence, I missed my entire life

“The present is never our goal:
the past and present are our means:
the future alone is our goal.
Thus, we never live but we hope to live;
and always hoping to be happy,
it is inevitable that we will never be so.”
~ Blaise Pascal (1623-1662);
French mathematician & philosopher
Photo from sweet-melis.com

The virtues of living in the present moment...

I've heard it said many times, many ways and then I recently heard it again and it clicked, finally. 

As a dedicated student of life with PhD honors in worry and brooding, the gift of presence was as impossible as the attainment of 'happiness'. Being a double Scorpio - and thus heavily fixed - I needed a stable reality anchored in long term conditions and situations. It did not matter that the reality was a phantom rife with long bouts of depression and perpetual anxiety - it was reliable.

However, the excessive unpredictability of these past three few years has finally brought me to my knees: in the midst of a saturn return and six months after the delivery of my last child, I was fired for the first time in my life (and experienced resulting trauma), I lost the following job within 2 months, had two miscarriages, went through a stressful lawsuit for the wrongful termination, endured the stress of purchasing a home, suffered losses in the stock market, was laid off, attempted loan modification, then a short sale, finally foreclosed and now long term unemployment. Within the last 3 months I've lived in 3 different locations and planned many more living options that fell through.

Needless to say, life has become less than stable and certainly lacks reliability. I can not say what tomorrow brings and I can't believe I'm actually in a state of detachment from hoped for outcomes. Finally 'living in the present' makes sense, It brings peace. It simplifies my mind by filling it with the five senses of each moment - what am I hearing, smelling, seeing, tasting and feeling? I'm paying attention to the thoughts that cross my mind and any time my mind strays to an emotional reaction, or thoughts of the past or future, I redirect them to here and now. I'm paying attention to each syllable my children produce, their body movements I paid so little attention to but want to remember. The gift of presence, being really present, has relieved my depression, decreased anxiety and returned a bit of laughter to my life.

Sure there remains a few things I could feel bad about, but I've given vast amounts of energy to feeling bad all of my life and have repetitively missed the beauty of the forest from being blinded by each tree. Money comes and goes, housing is temporary, resources decrease and despite my best, exhausting efforts, most of these things I've had little control over. Meanwhile, I missed the smiles, the sunsets, the tinkling of my baby's laughter - all the while admiring those people who've made a point of highlighting these very special ingredients of life.

I realized that despite the stress and horror of the past, I could pass away one hour from now while driving to the store. What if my heart fails while I sleep? I would have missed living every waking moment of my entire life.

Tomorrow never comes.

It's always today.

And even today is not guaranteed.

There is only this very moment.

The busy 3 yr old
[Right now, at this very moment there are raindrops falling outside my window, the Bearenstain Bears' wholesome episode is playing on the split screen computer window, my 16 year olds' room where I'm sitting smells like her body sprays because the 3 year old has been trying them all (and I'm smiling thinking about the 16 yr olds' reaction when she returns from her sleepover to find the results of her younger sisters exploration) and now the little one is busting out new dance moves after turning on the radio and within a split second, she's just brought me her box of chocolate covered almonds, closes her eyes and asks me if I can surprise her with the box one more time, I smile, comply and she displays the best surprised look of her life. All while I'm attempting to close out this post. Why miss out on this?]

12.15.2010

Tech in the Midst of the Forest

 While driving my son to school I listened to a piece on NPR about e-books' and the survival of large and small book stores, and it got me thinking. If they are to survive, they have to adjust - it's something we all are doing (adjusting and surviving).  I love books - enjoy the way they feel, look and have fond childhood memories of reading, undisturbed, for hours. I've lugged boxes of books around with me through every stage in life, from state to state, from room to room. My bookshelves housed the image of myself, expressed my philosophical views and let everyone know 'where I stand'.

Now we are UPsizing, simplifying and one day going rural. I'm a firm adherant to 'woman of few things', so where do my paper memories fit into this lightened scheme of things? As a beautiful relic in my mind. It's one of those things I have to let go in order to gain greater flexibility and versatility. My beloved beauties are taking up valuable real estate in our living space. So I'll be investing in the electronic versions that can be lightly transported wherever I go; even in the midst of a beloved forest.

12.13.2010

Biddy Mason - Stregth, Determination


I recently discovered Biddy Mason: a midwife, entrepreneur, landowner and philanthropist on Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles, and a founder of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, a major black church.

She gives me strength. Her life speaks for itself.


Bridget "Biddy" Mason 
August 15, 1818 - January 15, 1891


Bridget was born a slave, that much is certain. Some sources say she was born on the plantation of Robert Marion Smith and Rebecca Crosby Smith. Another source says she was born on a plantation in Hancock, Georgia, and that around 1836, she and her sister Hannah were purchased by Robert and Rebecca Smith and taken to their plantation in Logtown, Mississippi.

As a slave, Bridget had no formal education. She did learn about midwifery and herbal medicines from the other slave women and healers, and became well-regarded as a midwife.

In 1847, Robert Smith became a Mormon and moved, with his household and slaves (90 people in all), to Utah Territory. On this arduous 2,000-mile trek across the country, Biddy's responsibility was to herd the cattle, prepare meals, act as a midwife, and take care of her own children. (She had three daughters, Ellen, Ann and Harriet, whose father was reputedly Smith.) In 1851, Smith moved everyone again to San Bernardino, California, where Brigham Young was starting another Mormon community.

Biddy learned through friends in the African-American Los Angeles community that California had been admitted to the Union in 1850 as a free state; slavery was prohibited. But such slave owners were rarely challenged, and if they were, they rarely lost the case. In the winter of 1855, Smith decided to move once again, to Texas, a slave state. Their departure was interrupted by the Los Angeles sheriff, who served Smith a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of Biddy.

Biddy's daughter Ellen had been dating a free black man, Charles Owens, the son of an esteemed business owner in Los Angeles' African-American community. Charles and his friend Manuel Pepper, who was dating the daughter of another of Smith's slaves, helped Biddy file her petition with the court for her freedom. Since California law at the time prohibited blacks, mulattos and Native Americans from testifying in court, Biddy could not speak on her own behalf, but the judge did meet with her privately to hear her story. Robert Smith did not appear in court so, on January 19 (another source says January 21), 1856, the judge granted Biddy her freedom, as well as that of her three daughters (some sources say all the other slaves of Robert Smith were freed as well).

Biddy moved to Los Angeles, accepting the invitation to live with the Owens family. (Her daughter Ellen later married Charles.) She quickly became well regarded as a nurse and midwife, assisting in hundreds of births to mothers of all races and social classes. A couple sources say she was immediately offered a job after the trial by Dr. John S. Griffin, a Los Angeles doctor who had become interested in the case. What is certain is she soon became financially independent, saving her money and living frugally. Ten years later, in 1866, she bought a house and sizeable property on Spring Street for $250 -- becoming one of the first black women to own land in Los Angeles. She instructed her children to never abandon it.

In 1884, Biddy sold a parcel of the land for $1500 and built a commercial building with rental spaces on the remaining land. The area ultimately became the central commercial district of Los Angeles. Through continued wise business and real estate decisions, she acquired many parcels of land that, as the town developed, became prime urban lots -- and she accumulated a fortune of almost $300,000. Her grandson, Robert Curry Owens, a real estate developer and politician, was the wealthiest African-American in Los Angeles at one time.

Biddy Mason's House of the Open Hand
Biddy became known as Grandma Mason -- generously donating money to charities (she would occasionally pay the expenses of both Black and white churchs), visiting prison inmates with gifts and aid, and giving food and shelter to the poor of all races. Needy people often lined up in front of 331 South Spring Street. One source says she also ran an orphanage in her house.


In 1872, Biddy and her son-in-law, Charles Owens, founded and financed the Los Angeles branch of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first black church in Los Angeles. It is now known as 8th and Townes, and is presently housed in a modern building at 2270 South Harvard Street.

Biddy died January 15, 1891, at the age of 73, and was buried in an unmarked grave at Evergreen cemetery in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles. Nearly a century later, her accomplishments were finally given due respect when a tombstone marked her grave for the first time in a ceremony attended by Mayor Tom Bradley and about 3,000 First A.M.E. Church members, on March 27, 1988. The following year, November 16, 1989, was declared Biddy Mason Day and a memorial of her achievements was erected at the Broadway Spring Center (a parking garage built at the site of her home), between Spring Street and Broadway at Third Street.

Memorial Wall

Source

12.12.2010

A Wealthy Kind of Mind

Amish Wooden Piggy Bank. credit: dutchcrafters.com

We often discuss our 16 year old daughter's susceptibility to wasteful consumerism. She's the B.B. King of shopping: prone to singing, 'The Thrill Is Gone' shortly after acquisition of the latest and greatest. To paraphrase my husband's commentary on the matter, it's important for her to transfer the joy of purchase to the joy of knowing that she CAN purchase. The joy increases as the saved dollars and sense increase with regularly practiced restraint.

I recently stumbled into a blog entitled, 'The Hidden Costs of Material Possessions". WOW, it really hit home. The writer's train of thought makes so much sense, it actually connected the dots, one light at a time, in my mind! In fact, such thinking could lead to the attainment of what I like to call, 'a wealthy kind of mind'.

Now, if only I can get the teenager to buy into the idea that she too can have a wealthy kind of mind. Sounds like a late night infomercial, I know, but I want her to understand and experience the power of choosing not to spend frivolously in a consumption-driven world.

Not too many of us have been taught to consider the value of our possessions from a methodically neutral point of view. Do we ever weigh the hidden costs against the actual value an item can potentially bring to our lives?

Here’s the premise in a nutshell:

  1. Each possession has a ransom – cost of purchase.
  2. Once obtained, it takes up physical space. Every square inch of space we call home or storage has an attached cost. For instance, a 900 sq. ft. apartment costs less than a 1,500 sq. ft. home.
  3. Many select the size of residence based on the number of people and stuff  that need housing. Your residence comes with maintenance costs (in time, effort and money).
  4. Similarly, each possession comes with its own maintenance cost (updating, repairs, cleaning, etc.).
  5. Many items require accessories that also have the cost of purchase, storage and maintenance.
  6. Each time you move, there is a cost of transporting the possessions. Moving can also include change in residence, change in location of item in the home, or taking the item with you on a daily basis (a cell phone often needs a carrier, coins might need a coin purse).
  7. Having items of value inevitably introduces the possibility of theft. As the blogger states, “you must sacrifice a certain peace of mind and perpetually worry about someone taking it all away.”
  8. Not all items are equal in value. The less valuable items clutter prime real-estate (both physical and mental). In other words, your most valued items eventually become crowded out by items of lesser value.
The idea is to engender thoughtful purchasing, to consider the costs that advertisers don't include in their seductive ads. We increase wealth by saving resources (money, time, energy, mental/physical space). Chances are we wouldn't have bought most of the unused, under-utilized, broken or out-of-fashion possessions currently sitting in drawers and taking up space on shelves or in boxes, if we'd thought it through. What's worse, some of these items were bought with credit that takes years to pay off. The peace of mind that comes with living a debt-free life is immeasurable.

In my opinion, the person of fewer possessions who honors, values and maintains each of them is the wealthiest of all. Here's to hoping that our 16 year old will, sooner than later, appreciate the value and accumulated cents (sense) of a wealthier kind of mind.

    12.11.2010

    An Earlier, More Sacred Hour...


    Dawn is the only time of day I experience 'Mother' as she absorbs my 7 soul into the folds of her womb. 'Please stay', I say, each time she slips from view. The answer is inevitably, always gently, the same...

    Following are the timeless words of

    Henry David Thoreau

    "We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep"
     

    "Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself. I have been as sincere a worshipper of Aurora as the Greeks. I got up early and bathed in the pond; that was a religious exercise, and one of the best things which I did. They say that characters were engraven on the bathing tub of King Tching Thang to this effect: "Renew thyself completely each day; do it again, and again, and forever again." I can understand that."


    "The morning, which is the most memorable season of the day, is the awakening hour. Then there is least somnolence in us; and for an hour, at least, some part of us awakes which slumbers all the rest of the day and night. Little is to be expected of that day, if it can be called a day, to which we are not awakened by our Genius, but by the mechanical nudgings of some servitor, are not awakened by our own newly acquired force and aspirations from within, accompanied by the undulations of celestial music, instead of factory bells, and a fragrance filling the air — to a higher life than we fell asleep from; and thus the darkness bear its fruit, and prove itself to be good, no less than the light."


    "That man who does not believe that each day contains an earlier, more sacred, and auroral hour than he has yet profaned, has despaired of life, and is pursuing a descending and darkening way. After a partial cessation of his sensuous life, the soul of man, or its organs rather, are reinvigorated each day, and his Genius tries again what noble life it can make. All memorable events, I should say, transpire in morning time and in a morning atmosphere. The Vedas say, "All intelligences awake with the morning." Poetry and art, and the fairest and most memorable of the actions of men, date from such an hour. All poets and heroes, like Memnon, are the children of Aurora, and emit their music at sunrise."


    "To him whose elastic and vigorous thought keeps pace with the sun, the day is a perpetual morning. It matters not what the clocks say or the attitudes and labors of men. Morning is when I am awake and there is a dawn in me."


    "Moral reform is the effort to throw off sleep. Why is it that men give so poor an account of their day if they have not been slumbering? They are not such poor calculators. If they had not been overcome with drowsiness, they would have performed something. The millions are awake enough for physical labor; but only one in a million is awake enough for effective intellectual exertion, only one in a hundred millions to a poetic or divine life."


    "To be awake is to be alive. I have never yet met a man who was quite awake. How could I have looked him in the face?"


    Walden Pond, the view from Thoreau's cabin site


    Quotes taken from thoreau.eserver.org

    12.10.2010

    Housing outside the box: The Floating House

    I'm a fan of creative housing. In fact, I adore it. There's just something so incredibly endearing about thumbing one's nose at the established pre-fabbed, pipe-dream contained within four overpriced suburban walls.

    Feast your eyes on this tiny floating home in a floating community in Oregon:


    Part 1 - The exterior (9 minutes)
    Tiny floating house exterior

    Part 2 - The interior (9 minutes)
    Tiny floating house interior

    The lake view from the front windows and rooftop, the closeness to an untamed force of nature (water), the idea of parking your boat inside your home (one of the neighbors' set up shown in the film), the utilitarian interior... Oh the possibilities.

    Check out this floating home owners' blog here for more info and photos.

    Ecological Simplicity


    Simplicity means choosing ways of living that touches the Earth more lightly and that reduces our ecological impact on the web of life. This life-path remembers our deep roots with the soil, air, and water. It encourages us to connect with nature, the seasons, and the cosmos. An ecological simplicity feels a deep reverence for the community of life on Earth and accepts that the nonhuman realms of plants and animals have their dignity and rights as well.
    ~ Duane Elgin
    "Voluntary Simplicity"

    12.09.2010

    12 Simple Things/A Path to Revising "The" Dream

    Building on: 12 Simple Things You Can Start Doing Right Now To Prepare For The Coming Financial Apocalypse

    I won't rehash the specifics of the current state of America's economic affairs. Besides, 'Apocalypse' is relative - depending on each individuals' peculiar frame of mind, frame of reference and extenuating circumstances. In the meantime, many are in need of solace - and a compass - to calm their fears about a collective, disturbed, reality.

    The above-mentioned article describes empowerment tools for the dis-empowered. While reading, my peculiar frame of mind managed to find voluntary simplicity as THE fundamental  motivation for the following 12 suggestions:

    #1 Become Less Dependent On Your Job
    #2 Get Out Of Debt
    #3 Reduce Expenses 
    #4 Purchase Land
    #5 Learn To Grow Food 
    #6 Find A Reliable Source Of Water
    #7 Explore Alternative Energy Sources 
    #8 Store Supplies
    #9 Protect Your Assets With Gold And Silver
    #10 Learn Self-Defense
    #11 Keep Yourself Fit 
    #12 Make Friends

    In my opinion, just about anything one might be tempted to add to this list involves complications of questionable origins. I can't help but mention that every time I read emergency preparedness articles, I'm left with the same haunting questions: Why must we wait for (pending) calamity before we accept the fact that the ever-present media and over-arching big brother authority, we've come to rely on, are in fact concerned first, and foremost, for their own preservation? Furthermore, why do we not believe the concrete, tangible evidence before our eyes - 911, Katrina, and too big to fail bailouts while Main Street disintegrates?

    Media and government revise our collective 'reality' on a daily basis. 

    Do we have the courage to unplug for our own sustainable re-birth?

    Inner Solitude Sets Us Free


    "We can cultivate an inner solitude and
    silence that sets us free from loneliness and fear.
    Loneliness is inner emptiness.
    Solitude is inner fulfillment.
    Solitude is not first a place but
    a state of mind and heart.
    There is a solitude of heart
    that can be maintained at all times.
    Crowds or the lack of them have little to do
    with this inward attentiveness.
    It is quite possible to be a desert hermit
    and never experience solitude.
    But if we possess inward solitude
    we will not fear being alone,
    for we know that we are not alone.
    Neither do we fear being with others,
    for they do not control us.
    In the midst of noise and confusion
    we are settled into a deep inner silence."

    ~ Teresa of Avila

    The lifeboat


    con·fes·sion  (kn-fshn)
    n
    1. The act or process of confessing.
    2. Something confessed, especially disclosure of one's sins to a priest for absolution.
    3. A written or oral statement acknowledging guilt, made by one who has been accused or charged with an offense.
    (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/confession)

    Those were the days - when I considered myself the quintessential queen of multi-tasking. I admit I felt powerful, impressive, and as deeply interesting as any 21st century angst-ridden martyr. After all, I could juggle the myriad of imposed alter-realities that occupied my every waking moment: the angry liberal arts minion; the ardent dissident daughter of a corporate mother; the liberated, albeit stressed, modern-day working wife and mother; and the after-hours dutifully available parent/chauffeur (and unpaid co-teacher) of public schoolers suffering from hours of busy-work that required supervision and reams of multi-colored school-sponsored announcements, handouts and demands that always necessitated immediate attention. As if these weren't enough, there are a couple of other less glamorous alter-realities I maintained that I just don't feel like admitting to (chuckling)!




    lifeboat [ˈlaɪfˌbəʊt]
    n
    1. (Transport / Nautical Terms) a boat, propelled by oars or a motor, used for rescuing people at sea, escaping from a sinking ship, etc.
    2. (Economics, Accounting & Finance / Stock Exchange) Informal a fund set up by the dealers in a market to rescue any member who may become insolvent as a result of a collapse in market prices
    (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/lifeboat)

    These days deliberate, mindful living is a singular reality anchored in repentance to a battered, neglected, exhausted soul and family.

    Voluntary simplicity - a most welcomed lifeboat.

    12.08.2010

    Uncluttered simplicity


    Simplicity means taking charge of lives that are too busy, too stressed, and too fragmented. Simplicity means cutting back on clutter, complications, and trivial distractions, both material and nonmaterial, and focusing on the essentials - whatever those may be for each of our unique lives. As Thoreau said, "Our life is frittered away by detail... Simplify, simplify." Or, as Plato wrote, "In order to seek one's own direction, one must simplify the mechanics of ordinary, everyday life."

    ~ Duane Elgin 
    "Voluntary Simplicity"